Theatre and performance in Greater Manchester & other places.
Review of The Engagement Party at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham. It feels good to be heading to Oldham for a night out. The tram ride out from Victoria used to be a regular feature of my cultural life. Then the Coliseum closed, and I’ve not been back to the town centre on an evening since. [...]
Review of Blithe Spirit at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester. Novelist Charles Condomine has invited a local medium and clairvoyant to his home, hoping to gather material for his next book. As they prepare for the séance, he and his latest wife Ruth jadedly exchange jibes about their previous relationships. Although their new maid’s shortcomings are [...]
Welcome to my Circles & Stalls look back at 2024. As in previous years, this is very much a best of Manchester theatre list. So, it doesn’t include any shows that were passing through on tour or that were revivals from elsewhere. It’s exclusively focused on productions that either premiered in Greater Manchester or could [...]
Review of Spend Spend Spend at Royal Exchange, Manchester. After winning £152,000 on the football pools in 1961 (the equivalent of over £4,000,000 today), Viv Nicholson famously declared “I’m going to spend, spend, spend”. True to her word, she and her husband Keith indulged in a giddy blur of expensive cars, jewellery, furs and partying. [...]
Review of I Wish at HOME, Manchester. It’s a momentous occasion for “actual fairy godmother” Effie - she’s about to grant her grumblefillionth wish. Flicking through her magic memory book, she recollects some of the big dreams she has made come true over the years. Peering at us over her diamante Dame Edna-style spectacles, Le [...]
Review of WRESTLELADSWRESTLE at HOME, Manchester. “I’m Jennifer Jackson… and tonight I’m going to show you how to remove someone from a house party.” And she’s not messing around - with the help of Simon Carroll Jones (playing a “drunk uncle”), she does just that. It’s one of several moments in WRESTLELADSWRESTLE where Jennifer Jackson [...]
Welcome to my best of Manchester theatre list for 2023! As in previous years, I have focused on productions that either premiered in Greater Manchester or could only be seen here. Which means I’ve not included any shows that were passing through on tour or that were revivals from elsewhere. It may seem an odd [...]
Review of Lost and Found at Aviva Studios. Waiting for the show to start, down in the stalls, Aviva Studios’ ingenious folding yellow seating was keeping a surprising number of young audience members entertained. Any budding interest in auditorium design is quickly forgotten however when a noisy gaggle of gulls emerges – swooping down the [...]
Review of Brief Encounter at Royal Exchange, Manchester. The sound of passing trains may rattle around the auditorium, but a relaxing glow emanates from Milford Junction’s refreshment room. Overhead, designer Rose Revitt’s elegant metal arches and solid station clock set the scene nicely for the Royal Exchange’s new production for Brief Encounter. Polished wooden flooring [...]
Review of Romeo and Juliet at Royal Exchange, Manchester. Jettisoning fair Verona in favour of somewhere “just beyond Cheetham Hill”, director Nicholai La Barrie relocates Romeo and Juliet, while also bringing Shakespeare’s tale of “star-crossed lovers” bang up to date. High street fashions, Mancunian accents, and youthful swagger offer some reassuringly familiar reference points for [...]
Circles & Stalls 